


All The Art I Did For You

by EspadaIV



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Art, Artists, But No One Does Anything About It, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, Photography, Sculpting, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-13 16:24:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14116269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspadaIV/pseuds/EspadaIV
Summary: Bazz likes Nel. Nel wants to use Bazz as a model for a project. He shows up only to find out she has a boyfriend which makes him mad. He's male; he gets jealous. Nel realizes things and Grimmjow tries to push her towards a solution but she's not having any of it. Bazz made it pretty clear that he doesn't want anything to do with her... At least, that's the way she sees it. Grimmjow does something that's going to make them confront the situation.





	All The Art I Did For You

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. I, EspadaIV, do not own Bleach nor the characters I've used. They belong to their respective owners. Please feel free to comment or leave a review, rec (fic, manga, anime, music, movie, book, plot bunny). I reply to comments! Also, let's talk about anything! Kudos are awesome too. Thank you for reading!
> 
> I love talking to people! I also take requests! Send words:  
> http://espada-iv.tumblr.com/
> 
> Requested by a commentor.

"So, will you?"

 

God, the way she looked at him as she bounced up and down made him frown. It was pathetic how big doe eyes easily swayed him. Bazz nodded his consent. Usually, he'd be an asshole, but he was feeling generous, at least for today.

 

"YAY!" Nel said and clapped her hands. She threw her arms around Bazz's neck, hugging him. "I'll text you the details!"

 

A few days later, she did so, and he showed up to a shabby building in a questionable part of town. He didn't come here much because of the characters in the neighborhood. It made Bazz worry for the safety of his friend. Sometimes, he wished Nel would just live on campus. She was an artist and for her to be happy she had to spread out and channel her creativity and having a roommate was not ideal to her process.

 

... Nel liked being difficult. Being difficult meant she lived in a studio apartment in this run down, shit hole of an area.

 

He climbed to the third floor and walked down the hallway to the last apartment. He raised a fist to knock on the door, but he heard Nel talking. Then a man's voice.

 

"Keep doing that." There was a thick groan.

 

Oi! Did she have company? Who was she talking to? Who the fuck was inside of Nel's apartment? It was definitely a guy, Bazz knew that much. His fist clenched in anger.

  
The red-haired man stood there for a few seconds and took a deep breath. He had no reason to be angry that there was someone else in Nel's apartment. She didn't know. Bazz had never said anything to her. He was in love with her... or at least he thought he was because every time he saw her, Bazz wanted to pull her hair playfully. He ribbed her and gave her a hard time, but that was because he had this image of an asshole to uphold.

 

"You're giving me plenty of inspiration," replied a male voice. "You gonna get on this?"

 

"I can't. We're gonna be having company to pose with you soon."

 

He finally found his balls and knocked twice. Bazz could hear the flurry of activity behind the door, and then Nel was opening it. She smiled at the red-haired man.

 

“Bazz! Come in! I want to introduce you to another one of my models,” she said stepping aside. A shirtless man with blue hair was sitting on a stool in the middle of a mess of canvas, paint, clay, pens, pencils, and paper.

 

He looked at the man, realizing he was indeed naked and the front of the white sheet that was draped around his lap was tented. _This wasn't a model, Nel... You are fucking this guy_ , Bazz thought with a frown. Those words never came. Bazz merely tipped his head at the guy and watched his teal-haired friend as she buzzed around her small home.

 

“Um, why did you need me if you have him?” Bazz asked, looking pointedly at her.

 

Her smile faltered a bit. “I have an assignment for my photography class, and I figured I'd knock out my sculpting class project for this semester too. The photography teacher is a real dick and is suspected of being homophobic—”

 

“No.”

 

“C'mon Bazz!”

 

The red-haired man pulled Nel aside and then looked back at the blue-haired guy with a scowl. He was picking at his fingernails. “Is that your boyfriend?”

 

“Uh... um... kinda?” she murmured. “Does it matter who he is?”

 

Bazz was silent. He stared down at her, anger emitting from his features. He couldn't tell her. He wouldn't tell her. Bazz had an image to uphold.

 

“C'mon are we gonna do this? I hate fucking sitting still,” the other man complained. “This is fucking lame.”

 

Nel's eyes went wide, and she took a step away from Bazz. “I—What? Is there something wrong?”

 

“Fuck. Fine, Nel,” Bazz cursed in a quiet tone. “I'll do this but don't ask me for another fucking thing again.”

 

“What do you mean? What's wrong Bazz?”

 

He turned from the woman and walked over to the where the blue-haired guy was sitting. “Sup? Who are you?”

 

“Sup,” the man returned. “Grimmjow.”

 

“Cool. Let's do this, Nel. I got other shit to do tonight,” Bazz called out. It was a damn lie, but she wouldn't know that.

 

Nel scurried over to the men and frowned. “Can you take your clothes off, Bazz?”

 

“What?”

 

Spring green eyes cut over to her, and Bazz shook his head. She was fucking serious! She wanted him to strip? What the fuck was she playing at? “Nope. I'll take everything but my jeans and boots off,” he replied. There was no way in hell he was gonna get naked in front of another guy.

 

He did so, stripping off his white leather jacket. He tossed it onto another stool by the door. He grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it off his body, flinging the fabric in the same direction as his coat. Nel positioned the men just so and demanded that they stay absolutely still. She was going to be taking pictures for the sculpture class first.

 

She grabbed her expensive camera and started snapping away. Bazz let his eyes stare straight through the person who he currently had an arm draped over. He didn't see this Grimmjow guy. Nel was moving around them taking pictures from every angle that she could. After about twenty minutes of just standing still, the blue-haired man started bitching.

 

“Are you done?”

 

“Grimmjow!”

 

“What? This is fucking boring,” he complained.

 

Bazz just sighed because he wanted to get this over with and done. He wanted to get away from Nel and her _boyfriend_.

 

“It would go a lot faster if you two actually showed some emotion,” the woman retorted. She stood with her DSLR in one hand and the other on her hip. Nel looked annoyed. “Show some life, Bazz.”

 

“What the fuck do you want me to look like? I ain't interested in this asshole, so sorry if I'm not drooling all over him like you are,” Bazz said without thinking. He scoffed in disgust. He walked over to where his t-shirt and his jacket were sitting and put them back on his body. Then he walked out the door, making sure it slammed behind him.

 

He should have stayed far away from Nel when he met her a couple of years ago. He should have just run and kept her at an arms' length away. She was irresistible though. Her smile was infectious. Her demeanor was adorable. Sometimes Nel got excited and started talking really fast, jumping up and down like a child.  
  
She would practically glomp her friends, tackling them with a full body hug.

 

Bazz shook his head and made his way to the street and out of her neighborhood.

 

* * *

 

Grimmjow knew Nel was a bit put out because she stared at the door with her bottom lip poking out and quivering. He let the sheet drop and walked over to the teal-haired woman, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “You should have gotten another woman,” he said quietly.

 

A whimper left her mouth.

 

“He's jealous,” the blue-haired man explained. “I could tell the moment he looked at you and touched you. Ya friend Bazz, he feels threatened.”

 

“He's never said anything. How am I supposed to know what he thinks or feels? He acts like a hard ass, never letting people in,” Nel sniffled. “He's constantly giving me a difficult time and mocking me.”

 

With a sigh, he took the camera from Nel and put it down on a table. Grimmjow gathered the woman into his arms and turned her around, raising her chin up, so she could look at him. He saw the hurt in her eyes. A pang went through his stone heart. Grimmjow didn't like seeing anything but a smile on Nel's face.

 

“Ya gotta choice, ya know?” Grimmjow murmured into her hair, pulling her into a hug.

 

“I do?”

 

God, she sounded so lost and confused. He gave another huff of breath. “Ya can go after him and apologize for whatever it is he thinks you did wrong. Ya can go after him and slap the motherfucker for making you frown. Ya can go after him and fuck him silly.”

 

“Grimmjow!” Nel whined and pulled back from him. “I can't do that! We're—”

 

“Nel, shut up. I know we're together, but you're obviously torn up about this shit. It's bothering me,” Grimmjow stated. He can't say that he's surprised by the way Nel kisses him.

 

* * *

 

Nel was torn up about it. She threw herself into her sculpting project. She developed the photographs for her class. They were mediocre, to say the least. There was no life between the two men, both staring past each other in search of something else. Both were trying to look at someone else.

 

She knew what they were staring at. Nel knew the two men were trying to look at her, to catch her eye for one smile; for acknowledgment; for something that told them they mattered more than the other.

 

Her teacher said it was brilliant the way Nel caught the atmosphere of absence and longing in one frame.

 

Maybe that's why the lack of Bazz's person in her life hurt the most. He carved a Bazz shaped hole in her world, and she was desperately trying to fill it with the sculpture. She'd sit in her apartment for hours staring at the block of clay, carving chunks from the white surface, throwing them into the bucket until the shape of the man began to emerge.

 

How many years had she known him? It had to be when they were freshman and going through the required classes. Bazz was always there, sitting next to her. They were in the same co-ed dorm. He was there to alleviate the boredom of studying by sneaking in bottles of beer. Nel wasn't a party goer. Bazz was, and he made sure that she had fun.

 

Sophmore year he decided to join a frat house. They called themselves Sternritters and Nel didn't like them because they seemed uppity. They even had a sorority, Bazz tried to get her to join, and she ran like a dog with its tail between its legs. So, he moved off campus, but he still took time out to visit her.

 

They were friends. Nel didn't miss his looks or the subtle touches. He only did them around her, and only when they were alone. Otherwise, he was just a hard-headed, mocking, smart ass towards her.

 

It hurt more because she would see him around the college campus, wrapped up in his own friends, kissing a woman with neon mint hair, laughing with a blond man, and play fighting with a black man who wore a bicorn hat. Nel would feel his chayote colored eyes on her as she tried not to look at him. She didn't want to look at him.

 

Maybe that's why it was a shock when her photography teacher told her to pick out some of her shots for a student art exhibit. The man gave his opinion. Grimmjow gave his. Bazz was not consulted. Nel couldn't decide.

 

The next morning, she woke up to an email from the professor, thanking her for the photos. She narrowed her eyes at Grimmjow who was standing in her kitchenette, sipping coffee. He had sent the teachers the images that he thought were the best. Nel fumed, yelling at the blue-haired man.

 

It wasn't his choice! It wasn't his right! Maybe she didn't want to submit the photos! Dammit, Grimmjow!

 

She was crying because she didn't want to deal with Bazz. Tears ran down her face, falling onto the paint splattered t-shirt she was wearing. It'd been weeks since she touched the sculpture. She was considering scrapping the entire thing and going with something generic, but she'd already spent so much of the semester on it. Another six weeks and it would be due.

 

Two weeks later was the night of the photography exhibit, Nel was there. Grimmjow showed his face and kissed her on the cheek before making the rounds to look at the various pieces. The photos Grimmjow had selected were the best ones out of the two hundred pictures she had taken with her camera. The show was taking place in the lobby of the art building.

 

Ten photos out of two-hundred were on the wall. Some were in grayscale. Some were in color. The biggest one was a black and white print that showed only half of Bazz's face and eyes filled with woeful disappointment. The other half was covered by the back of Grimmjow's head. There was a picture just like the one of Bazz, but Grimmjow's eyes showed more of annoyed boredom than anything of substance.

 

Nel's stomach twisted. She saw the blue-haired man working his way through the crowd. She also saw a red mohawk drifting through the sea of people. Why had Bazz shown up? How did he know about this?

 

Maybe she could slip away and not even talk to Bazz. Nel turned and took several steps before she felt a hand close around her wrist. Panic overwhelmed her, and she turned to see Grimmjow holding her in front of the wall of photos.

 

“What?” she asked, trying to pry the vice-like grip from her arm. It wasn't working, and she could see that red-haired male coming closer. Fortunately, Grimmjow's gaze was on the huge portrait of him and not on her. “C'mon Grimmjow, let me go. Please.”

 

“You're not going—”

 

“No! I can't,” Nel admitted. “He wanted me to leave him alone, and that's what I'm doing. He said for me not to ask him for another thing. That just screamed for me to stay the hell out of his life.”

 

“I don't think he meant it.”

 

Grimmjow pulled her closer so she couldn't escape and Nel wanted to curse him badly. “You told him. You set this up,” her lips trembled as she said those words. The teal-haired woman couldn't help but feel betrayed. “Why?”

 

“Because I hate seeing you cry, Nel. I hate seeing you look so sad about something so stupid,” Grimmjow replied. “Your crying over Bazz is stupid. Just talk to him.”

 

“I'm not stupid, Jaegerjaquez.”

 

Nel froze, her body stiffening. Oh shit. This was bad. She turned her head to see the red-haired man towering over her. He was staring at her with those pale green eyes, eyes half-lidded.

 

“I didn't say you were. Had you heard the entire conversation you wouldn't have assumed things,” Grimmjow replied to the other man. “You ready?”

 

Ready? Ready for what? She wasn't prepared for anything when it concerned these two men.

 

Bazz nodded, and suddenly Nel found herself steered toward the door.

 

* * *

 

Bazz's mouth found it's way from Nel's hairline and down her neck. This had been Grimmjow's idea, and he's sitting at the end of the bed in the loft of Nel's apartment, watching them.

 

The man's blue eyes follow everything that Bazz is doing to the woman. Bazz saw him adjust the front of his dress pants. He has to refrain from rolling his eyes because he doesn't want to get into a pissing match with Grimmjow about being a minute man. All he did to Nel was kiss her several times. That had taken a good thirty minutes to do _properly_.

 

Foreplay was one of his favorite things. But... He couldn't resist taking a jab at the other guy. Bazz huffed a small sigh. He saw Nel shiver. “Do we really need the peanut gallery here while we do this?”

 

It was months ago when Grimmjow grabbed him by the front of his white leather jacket when he was out with Lille and Candice. They were waiting for Jugo to get out of his damn class. The blue-haired man pulled him into some bar near campus. They sat down at a booth, had some beers and talked about Nel. It was all very manly and eye-opening. Bazz didn't admit to anything. He didn't tell Grimmjow a damn thing.

 

“ _This entire thing could have been avoided if you had just opened your damn mouth and said something to her_ ,” Grimmjow said to him.

 

“ _Why? What's the point? You got her_ ,” Bazz griped, swirling the beer in the bottle. Why the fuck was he having this conversation? He was supposed to take Candice to a damn movie tonight. It didn't look like that was going to happen because he was well into his fourth beer.

 

 _“She ain't property, asshole. If she wants you, ain't nothing I can do about it_ ,” Grimmjow replied.

 

Bazz scoffed. “ _Tch. I gotta girlfriend_ ,” he stated.

 

“ _I gotta math test in the morning_.”

 

“ _What the fuck does that mean_?”

 

“ _I thought we were listing off things we could skip out on_ ,” Grimmjow commented. “ _I know I ain't taking that damn test. You wanna swap girlfriends for a fuck_?”

 

Bazz's lip curled in disgust. Ewww but dammit, he was considering it. Candice would kick his ass if he even asked about it. The red-haired man left the bar after that conversation, going back to his room at the frat house. Candice was there, and she was pissed off. She ended up going to the movie with Lille. That's when he found out the other woman had been cheating on him.

 

It was okay because he didn't need anyone. It had always been him versus the world. He didn't want it to be like that, but that was life.

 

His eyes took in the woman's expressions and the way her lips moved when he touched her. Every piece of skin he revealed he touched, kissed, sucked, and licked. By the time Bazz got between her legs, she was strung as tight as a violin string, ready to snap. The whimper she released from her mouth when he brought his lips down to the apex of her thighs was heady. It did wicked things to his brain. He groaned as he lapped at her.

 

Once she finally broke, Nel came all over his face, screaming; clamping her thighs around his head. Bazz had to gently pry them from his body. He lay next to her, holding Nel and stroking her back. She was crying, and it was the only thing he could think to do.

 

After the tears dried, Nel fell asleep being cuddled by Bazz. He slipped from her bed, glad that the only thing he had taken off was his shirt and shoes. He grabbed his shirt from the floor, pulling the fabric onto his body and rebuttoning it.

 

Bazz glanced up to see Grimmjow staring at him. “What?”

 

“You going somewhere?”

 

“Home,” he replied. “Why?”

 

Grimmjow shrugged. “She's gonna wake up, and you're gonna be gone. She's gonna be pissed if you do that. She's gonna be hurt if you leave.”

 

“She'll get over it, man.”

 

“You think she will? Dammit, Black,” Grimmjow growled and stood up. He walked past the other man and went down the ladder. Bazz followed him. The blue-haired man walked over to the table where there was a damp sheet covered lump. Green eyes watched as the cloth was carefully pulled back to reveal an almost perfect replica of Bazz's face and torso.

 

“She'll get over it? Nel thinks I don't know about this, but I've watched her work on it. The pictures she took of you...” he trailed off. Grimmjow sighed and wiped a hand over his face then replaced the sheet. “She'll destroy this and fail her sculpting class for the semester if you do that.”

 

“If I fuck her and leave, she won't get over it.”

 

“I'm not asking you to do that. I'm asking that you two to talk because you're fucking killing Nel whether or not you realize it. I'd like to go back to the Nel that was around before you slammed her door. The one that was happy and didn't feel like she had to tiptoe around people because she found out some dickhead had feelings for her,” Grimmjow spat.

 

“I got shit to do.”

 

“Then leave and don't fucking even glance in her direction.”

 

* * *

 

Nel heard them talking. She woke up when she felt the bed move. She heard them. Tears welled in her eyes. She sighed and sat up on the bed, burying her face in her hands. Why was she shedding tears over some asshole who never really gave her the time of day? She gave a soft sniffle.

 

The creak of the ladder gave him away, and Nel looked up to see Bazz staring at her. She gathered the blanket that was laying around her to her chest as if he hadn't already seen her naked and touched her body in an intimate way.

 

She heard him sigh. Nel's face twisted as he got to the top of the ladder and stepped onto the floor. Bazz looked uncomfortable as he gathered his boots where they were sitting beside her bed. Nel wanted to say something. She wanted him to say something; anything; everything.

 

He sat down on the corner of the bed to pull the boots onto his feet. She almost let out a choked sob.

 

“Nel,” came the quiet murmur.

 

“What?” It came out harsher than she intended in a raspy whisper.

 

“I can't—Not in front of other people. I'm not gonna disrespect you like that,” Bazz said. He was hunched over tying the laces of the boot. “I'd much rather not ever talk to you again than have your man watch as I'm dicking you down. You can understand this, right?”

 

Nel shrugged. She heard what he said, but it wasn't like she could comprehend the sentences at the moment. Her heart hurt too much. When Bazz stood up, it was like the damn thing shattered anyway.

 

“I'll see you around. Don't destroy your sculpture.”

 

Someone bought all of her photographs from the show that night. She had the sculpture of Bazz fired in a kiln. She got high marks on it. It was entered into an end of the semester art show. People raved about the piece saying it looked like a Greek god. Someone bought it.

 

Nel realized the only thing she had to remember Bazz by were the images she had taken for the art projects. She didn't see him around campus anymore.

 

 

**Three Years Later**

 

New York City was a brutal place for an artist, but the bustling metropolis was perfect for Nel and her eccentric ways. Grimmjow always complained about wanting to go back to Germany. They would one day, but for now, NYC would be their home. She just wanted to experience this careless life of hectic activity. Nel was working for a fashion house as an assistant when she walked past a business. She had only glanced at the windows because that's what people did. They glanced at things instead of looking because staring meant getting involved.

 

A flicker of her gaze was all she needed. Nel's steps halted on the cement as she stared slack-jawed at the display.

 

Her portraits of Bazz hung on a white wall inside black frames with white matting around them. Her sculpture of the man was in the middle. Nel's breath caught in her throat. She'd not seen them in three years.

 

Ineffectually, her hand fluttered to her pocket for her phone. She had to show this to Grimmjow, but then she noticed the name of the business. Tears filled her eyes.

 

 _Black & Company_.

 

Bazz.

 

The thought slammed into her like a body to a brick wall. The air left her lungs. It had to be him. Why else would she be seeing her pieces of art there with _that_ name?

 

Bazz.

 

They had a history. He kissed Nel, wrapping his arms around her. Bazz had pressed her body against his as if he was imprinting himself upon her then walked out of her messy, paint splattered apartment.

 

“They're quite impressive, aren't they?” The question cut her to the bone as she swung her head towards the source. Bazz stood there, leaning against the smooth and shiny front of the building. “Are you going to stand there all day and look at them?”

 

Bazz. He was standing there in a suit, and his trademark mohawk was slicked back. He looked professional. Nel couldn't believe what she saw, so she pinched herself. It hurt, so she wasn't dreaming. He was really standing there, looking at her.

 

“Hello, Nel.”

 

She couldn't say anything. She had no voice. Nel couldn't do much more than appear like a fish out of water with her mouth opening and closing as if she was gasping for breath.

 

“I understand your shock.”

 

Shock? Shock? That was an understatement for what she was feeling. Astounded. Stunned. Outraged. Horrified. Taken aback! Offended.

 

There. She was offended at _his_ presence in _her_ city!

 

Nel was quite aware that all the emotions she was feeling had shown on her face, and she couldn't help it, but she ended up looking wounded by the time she had sorted herself out.

 

* * *

 

Bazz couldn't help baiting her. It was Grimmjow who told him where they were living. New York didn't seem like a bad place. He had the money to set up a new firm. People always were needing a way out. He was a lawyer with a smooth mouth and enough connections to make his clients come out on top, whether he was with the defense or prosecution. He was a civil lawyer.

 

He thought they would never cross paths, but here he was looking at her and her teal hair. She looked attractive in her office attire. Bazz had to curb his desire. The situation was still the same. She was still with Grimmjow.

 

Why the fuck had Grimmjow let him know where they were? Did he think they'd get together to get drinks and catch up? Surely the man didn't think it was that easy to patch things over.

 

“Nel?”

 

He wasn't surprised as she just walked away from him. There was no way she was going to forgive him. Bazz had been a bastard all those years ago. He was an asshole. He totally deserved Nel's snubbing.

 

With a sigh, he turned back into his offices and sat down at the desk. He didn't miss Grimmjow's smirk. “What are you doing here again?” Bazz asked.

 

“Nothing. Just waiting for the impending explosion,” the blue-haired man stated, giving the other man a somewhat feral grin.

 

Bazz snorted. “You're going to be waiting a while. I didn't implode or explode the last time. This time will be no different. Why?”

 

The tinkling of a ringtone flitted through the room, and Grimmjow pulled his phone out. “Hey, Nel. What's up? What's wrong?”

 

The redhead's eyes narrowed at Grimmjow who looked worried. He wanted to say something, but he knew that would give him away.

 

“Nel, calm down. Take a deep breath. Where are you at?” the other man stood up and then pressed the screen.

 

“Is she okay?”

 

“She'll be fine, but I think I just got the go-ahead for us to go back to Germany. I wasn't talking about you exploding. I meant Nelliel.”

 

Wait.

 

“You fucker.” Bazz realized he had been used. Grimmjow had used the memories Nel had to make her want to run away. "You fucking bastard."

 

“See ya, Bazz.”

 


End file.
